The Analysis of the Behaviors of Horses under the Ordinary Management in the Livestock Farm

Abstract

The behaviors of two horses being reared under usual conditions in the stock farm were classified into 48 items and these 48 coded items were recorded every twelve seconds throughout successive 48 hours, and the distribution of movements, behaviors and the locomotion or posture was tabled, which clarified the characteristics of usual behaviors of horses. 1) A day was divided into four periods in which each percentage of locomotions and postures was calculated. Horses were most active in the Daytime period, followed by the Early Morning period, the Twilight period and least active in the Nighttime period through all seasons. This is due to the result that horses are controlled by the daily management form. 2) Horses seem to take most of sleep as a drowsy condition in standing. The sleep in squatting or lying occupied only 30-60 minutes a day. 3) Grazing in a paddock and feeding in a stall occupied 6 hours respectively and total time for ingestion was almost half a day. In the night periods, the term of the standing with the neck drooped, occurred alternately with the term of the feeding of hays or grasses.